Forward Thinking Speaker Series: Shawna Pandya

Forward Thinking Speaker Series: Shawna Pandya

Dr. Shawna Pandya is passionate about the two ‘extremes’ of humanity - surviving and thriving. She’s interested in furthering technological innovation and human knowledge, and tackling humanity’s grandest challenges to affect positive social change. After leaving her career in neurosurgery she went from repeatedly telling herself “I am an absolute disgrace,” to gaining a new sense of being.

In her talks, Dr. Pandya talks passionately about resilience and the lifelong learning she came to embrace from her time with sociopaths, Navy SEALs, martial artists, medicine, astronauts, and from her father.

Dr. Pandya will share some of her insights on how she Levels Up! based on her experiences in operational, extreme and dynamic environments. Her first example, tackling burn out, when you’re fresh off 320 hours of emergency room call…!

About Dr. Shawna Pandya

In 2024, Dr. Shawna Pandya became Canada’s next named astronaut and the first named Canadian female commercial astronaut! She’ll be flying with Virgin Galactic to further space-based biomedical and physiological research.

She successfully completed Scientist‐Astronaut Candidate training in 2015 with Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere) and was part of the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero‐gravity.

In 2016, Dr. Pandya was named as prime crew for Project Poseidon, which aims to further ocean and space exploration, while setting a world record for “most days spent under the sea.” She also received the Global Women of Vision award in 2016.

Preparing for space requires more than just knowledge — it involves an incredible amount of mental and physical agility. Outside of her work, Dr. Pandya continues to further develop these skills through martial arts. She holds a black belt in taekwondo, a sport she’s been practicing for over 15 years and she’s travelled to Thailand annually since 2015 to train in muay thai.

All tickets: $22.58

For more information and accessibility seating call 780-497-4470, Tuesday to Friday, 2:00 to 5:00 P.M.